Tales of winter
by temari80
Summary: The crew of the waverider finished it's mission and has returned to 2016. Leonard, still hurting from his fallout with Mick decide's it is time to travel outside of Central City. He is about to leave when a women in a beautiful dress passes by him. He follow's but get's much more than he bargained for.
1. The return

Leonard hung on as the waverider made it's landing in 2016 Central City. With one last look at his old friend and partner, Mick, he left the ship. He didn't want any goodbye's.

Sara, hanging onto her girlfriend Nyssa, called his name. "Where are you headed Leonard"? He turned around making sure no one saw the tear's glistening in his eye's and said "I don't know but I'll be sure to write" he said and left that part of his life behind him.

Mick watched as Leonard left. He had to do what he did. Leonard needed to fly on his own and now he was. Clasping Sara on the shoulder he whispered "he will be just fine little bird. And Nyssa if you hurt her, I will kill you" and he walked away. He would stay in their old hangout just so Leonard could alway's find him.

Sara and Nyssa watched as Mick left. Nyssa pulled Sara in close and said "we should get ourselves to star city they might need us". Kissing Nyssa, Sara nodded and they headed to catch a train to Star.

Ray and Kendra watched the whole scene play out from the ship. Kendra slipped her hand into Ray's and after their goodbye's to Stein, Jackson and Rip they headed to their new life together,

Rip looked around at what was left of his team that saved the universe. "So fellas, how would you like to continue traveling time and space with me"? Rip said half hopeful. Stein and Jax looked at each other and shook their heads yes.

The waverider took off with a groan like it was sad to say goodbye to the other's and disappeared. The Legend's of Tomorrow have come back to become Legend's of Today.


	2. The girl in blue

Leonard walked through Central City like a ghost. He didn't care to visit anyone or anyplace. He knew Lisa was safe with Cisco and that Mick would pave his own road. He missed him though. They had been a team since he was thirteen years old. "Everyone moves on" he told himself.

Reaching the edge of the civilization known as Central City he paused to check his rations. Things were so quite back on Earth in 2016. He missed the adventure but he was tired and wanted to find something new. He had enough water for about two weeks and of course his trusty ice gun. He smiled remembering some of the crazier moments of his trip with the others. He zippered up his bag, he would hunt for food if he ran out and he could make the water last.

He gave a peace sign to the city behind him and he was about to head into the wild when he saw her. She had beautiful golden hair and a dress as blue as the sky. She looked lost and scared. Most of all she looked like a goddess that was in need of help. Taking a deep breath he decided to talk to the woman. "Excuse me ma'am are you alright?" Leonard asked. The women turned around and her eyes just blew him away. They were green and very deep. He could see the pain she had experienced in her life shine through them. She turned around and before saying anything she collapsed to the ground. "Dammit" Leonard said picking up the woman. "I guess I'm going back to the city" he growled and headed back into Central.

Mick was just clearing off space to sleep when he heard the doors to the hideout slide open. He got his heat gun out and waited. Maybe Savage wasn't as dead as they thought and he was first on his kill list. He listened as heavy boots headed his way, as the noise got louder he popped himself up and pointed the gun which landed right in front of Leonard's nose. Leonard pushed the gun to the side and laid the woman in his arms on the newly cleared off bed.

"Dammit Leonard you gave me a damn heart attack" Mick growled as he took a seat next to Leonard. "Ah Mick, your heart can withstand anything" Leonard said with a laugh to his voice. Mick, looking annoyed but happy asked "so who is the babe"? Leonard made a low growling noise and trying not to punch Mick said "I have no idea buddy. I saw her, she looked confused then collapsed". Mick groaned and said "ah she must have seen you and was overcome by your cuteness". This made Leonard blush. He had feelings for the brute but was afraid of being rejected or worst of all Mick not wanting anything to do with him because of his sexuality. He didn't think Mick would care but not knowing and the thought of being rejected by him scared the crap out of Leonard. "Hey, Earth to Leonard" Mick said and slapped Leonard on the shoulder. Leonard snapped out of his head and looked at Mick. "I'm fine just thinking" Leonard said as he tried to dodge Mick's beautiful and fearless eyes. "She doesn't seem to have a fever or nothing" Mick said still worried about Leonard. He would die for Leonard and he hoped one day that he would be able to tell Leonard exactly how he felt about him. He looked at the woman asleep on the bed and sighed. Leonard was obviously looking in a different direction when it came to his sexual interests. Sighing and pushing back those feelings Mick started rummaging through stuff.

Leonard sat down and watched as Mick kept himself busy. Something was on his mind and he knew that he would never be able to pull it out of him. When he was ready to talk he would.

The lady in blue started to stir and both men went to her bedside. "Where am I?" The woman asked weakly. "Your in Central City ma'am" Mick answered. "Leonard here saw you pass out and brought you back to our place to rest" continued Mick as he helped her sit up. He had to admit she was beautiful. He definitely saw why Leonard would've been staring.

"Thank you" she said trying to stand unsuccessfully. "Hey, sit down" Leonard said as he helped her get back into a safe sitting position. "I must get back to Arendelle and save my sister and her fiancé" she said in a panicked voice. Mick and Leonard looked at each other. Neither of them had ever heard of this Arendelle. "Alright, we will get you back to this Arendelle but first you need to rest. By the way, what is your name?" Leonard asked. She weakly smiled and said "Elsa" and fell back to sleep. Leonard couldn't help but smile. Elsa was such a beautiful name. Mick got up and sat down away from the other two. Not only did he hate seeing Leonard fawn over someone else but he knew he shouldn't be fawning over her. He had to tell Leonard the one thing he never wanted to come to light but it seemed as though it as smacked him in the face and he was going to have to. He watched as Leonard covered Elsa with a warm blanket and sit down on the floor by her bed. Mick allowed tears to flow as he turned his head away from Leonard's eyesight. This wasn't going to be fun for either of them and he might loose Leonard in the process.

The hours passed. Elsa was sleeping peacefully and her fever seemed to subside. Leonard kept an everlasting watch over her while Mick was just figuring out what he his next move in this game was. He had to tell Lenny. He didn't like lying to him but he also knew exactly where this knowledge would lead and what it could lead to. He didn't know if he was ready for that. Looking at Leonard holding Elsa's hand Mick made a decision. He had to tell both Elsa and Leonard the cold hard truth.

The next morning Mick made the most delicious blueberry pancakes Leonard had ever tasted. He also knew that if Micky was cooking he was about to say or do something that was hard for him. Elsa seemed to have her appetite because she at three giant hot cakes. Looking up at Leonard and Elsa Mick decided it was time to let the secret he had been keeping for this many years out of the bag.

"Leonard, Elsa I need to say something. It won't be an easy thing to accept or to understand but I need you to try. Elsa, your parents died in a shipwreck years ago correct?" Mick asked again trying not to lose his bravery. Elsa just nodded and looked down at her empty plate. Immediately Leonard got up and added two more to it and Elsa smiled at him. Mick wanted to scream and hit something but he kept himself calm. After everything that happened on the waverider, including his temporary insanity and time as Chronos, he knew that he couldn't lose his temper or he would fall back into the hold pattern he once held. Taking a deep breath Mick continued. "Your parents didn't die that night Elsa. They weren't even you fucking parents" Mick growled and immediate tried to calm himself down. Leonard came over and put a hand on his shoulder. It helped but Mick felt as if he had let Leonard down by loosing it. "I'm fine Lenny, I just need to finish." He said and Leonard went back to his seat worried about his oldest and closest friend. "Elsa you and Anna were taken as very small children. Anna was just a baby and you were only three." Again Mick stopped and allowed things to slow down in his brain. Elsa looked at him like a deer in the headlights but also as someone who knew that he was telling the truth. Leonard just looked at him in disbelief. "This is where it gets painful" Mick said looking away from the others. "Elsa, we are your parents. Those were your grandparents and Leonard was their son, until he married me that is". Mick waited to turn around. He didn't want to see their faces. He didn't want to see the disbelief and he was shocked when he felt Leonard's arms wrap around him like a warm blanket on a cold winters night. "Hey Micky look at me" Leonard said in a calm reassuring voice. Mick turned around and saw the tears at the edges of Leonard's eyes. "I knew something has always been eating at you Micky and now I know what. It must be hard to be the only one to remember such a sad thing but I want to remember. I want to know the truth and what happened. I want to prove to myself that I did grow and learn on the waverider" Leonard said grasping Mick tighter. Elsa watched all of it with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. On one hand two men couldn't have children and she would remember her parents but on the other she never thought she could control her magic and be queen. That's when she noticed steam rising from around both Mick and Leonard. It was magical. For the first time since all of this started Elsa could almost believe what was being said. She got up and went over and wrapped her arms as best as she could around the two men. She had to know. Anna always said that the truth comes out only when love is showed and she wasn't going to argue with Anna after everything that happened in Arundelle. That's when it happened. Fire and ice combined and the three of them became more of a vapor than three different people. Flames as tall as the ceiling and Snow flourishing all around the room came out of nowhere. It was like a raging storm right there in their little hideout.

After many minutes they separated. It was like a rebirth for all of them. The memories rushed back like a tsunami hitting the beach. They all found a place to sit before they fell. Mick got physically sick while Leonard was in a state of shock. Elsa just sat their watching the two men. They were her parents. Her whole life had been one lie after another. She buried her face into the pillows and just started to cry. How was she supposed to explain this to Anna? She didn't know the whole story and it was torturing her.

Mick couldn't move. He didn't want to move. He knew there was no turning back now. Leonard didn't know what to do. All these memories flooding back hurt mentally and physically. He tried to shake it off. I mean hell after everything he had been through in his life this should be simple but it wasn't. It wasn't even in the top ten things he had ever had to deal with. Looking towards Mick, who was always a rock he felt this wave of fear. He had never seen Mick look as pale and fragile as he looked right at this moment. He wanted to run over and just slap Mick in the face and tell him to get his shit together because he needed him. Elsa needed him. He also wanted to go over and wrap his arms around Mick and have Mick wrap his arms around him and the world just vanish away in their embrace with one another. Neither was very realistic because he knew his legs weren't working. He wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't even find the strength to say a damn thing. He wanted to cry out for Mick, for his children, for anything that would listen but he couldn't. He just sat there like the other two. Cold, stiff and scared. Afraid that one wrong move might bring the entire building down around them. So he sat. So the others sat. They didn't move or speak. They just sat not looking at anything but with their eyes wide open. It was like they had been turned to statues and we're waiting to be crushed into little pieces by their attackers. But the attacker was their own minds. Their own memories, guilt, frustration, anger, sadness and confusion. This attacker couldn't be frozen or burnt. It couldn't even be seen. They had to fight the attacker on their own. They had to find the strength to break free of this new dungeon on their own.

Mick saw the day his children were taken and him being helpless to stop it. He saw Leonard being dragged out of their palace and taken back to Arundelle to be kept within stone walls while his parents would masquerade as their children's parents. He couldn't do a damn thing. He was being magically kept within a cell in his own damn palace. He cursed and swore but that didn't help his family. He failed them. He failed Leonard. The voices kept calling him a failure, a loser. They keeps whispering about how he had no power to save anyone. Then on thought, one memory shone brighter than any other and that was the day he held Elsa for the first time. Her bright eyes staring at him, asking him to protect her forever as well as he could and then her face became Leonard's and he was looking at him through the containment cell on the waverider and asked the same from him. He turned his head slightly. Looking straight at Leonard he saw that same look, the one asking him to save him, to be his hero. Mick growled low in his chest and without missing a beat he willed himself up and went to Leonard and held him. Shielded him from the world as Leonard allowed himself to break. Allowed himself to cry. He stood there as Leonard pounded on him asking over and over again why he let all this happen. Mick just stood there. Leonard swing one more time and instead of sitting back up to swing again his slumped over onto Mick. And in a puddle of his own tears and Mick's blood Leonard fell asleep. Elsa watched as her father let her mother beat him up, took all the blame for what happened. She watched him not even twitch a muscle as the stronger blows hit and he didn't move until her mother fell asleep and he wrapped her in his arms. Mick looked over at his now grown daughter. She was so beautiful and so full of the same magic her mother possessed. He motioned for her to sit on his other side. Not knowing exactly why Elsa did just that. Unfolding one of his arms from Leonard he wrapped it around his daughter and pulled her close to him. He wouldn't fail them again. He would make sure they were protected and he would get their home back. Slowly Mick drifted off to sleep but before he did he surrounded them with a wall of flame and just before his eyes finally closed he made a promise to anyone who was listening that his vengeance would be felt.


	3. Aodhendelle

The sun shining in through the broken window of their hideout woke Leonard up. He also saw the remnants of Mick's famous flame wall disintegrate away. Blinking he realized his face was still buried in Mick's chest. Mick kissed him on the temple and said "morning". Looking up at Mick he saw his eyes were bloodshot and that's when he realized Mick hadn't slept at all. Mick was good at not taking care of himself when he was worried or upset. Smiling, Leonard tried to just think about how It was nice to wake up in Mick's arms. He then noticed the bruises and dried blood on Mick's face and upper chest. He also noticed the dried blood on his own knuckles. The beating he gave Mick the night before flashed through his mind. He flinched out of fear of himself and that's when Mick's arms wrapped around him and brought him back against his chest. "Len, don't even think on what happened last night. It was pent up anger and sadness you had to get out and I'm the one who deserved to take that pain away from you and take it as my own" Mick said with conviction. Leonard pushed himself out of Mick's grasp and taking Mick's beat up face in his hands he said "you did nothing wrong that day. You have to accept that and realize that you did everything you could for us." He said stealing a glance at the sleeping Elsa behind Mick. He knew that this was going to be more sensitive than just talking so with that he kissed the temple of Mick's forehead and headed into the kitchen to make the three of them breakfast.

Leonard started mixing up some pancake batter when he felt Mick grab his waist and gently move him to the bed next to Elsa. "I will cook, you should relax" Mick said and headed back to the kitchen. Leonard moaned ever so quietly. He was getting tired of Mick's overprotectivness already. Mick got this way whenever he thought Leonard was going to disappear or that he had failed his family: Trying to calm down and not beat the crap out of Mick again, he looked over at Elsa who was still fast asleep. Leonard then thought about Anna, his precious little Anna. He missed her so much. He knew that she didn't remember their time together but he did and he wanted to hold her again. Elsa started to stir and groggily sat up as the first set of pancakes hit the griddle. Food always seemed to stimulate his daughters he thought to himself trying not to laugh. He noticed that the same cold air that moves around him when he is upset or worried was moving around Elsa. He looked at Mick and by his body language knew that he sensed it without even having to look. Leonard felt bad for Mick sometimes. Neither of their daughters inherited his affinity towards fire magic. He said he didn't care but Leonard knew that there were times when he did.

Mick tried to ignore Leonard's eyes piercing into his back. He knew he was watching and worrying but he couldn't stand seeing Leonard's face when he was in this state. He flipped over the next set of pancakes. He watched the burner heat up and cool down. A perfect balance of hot and cold just like him and Leonard. Len was always talking about how Mick must feel left out because one of their kids showed ice magic like Len's. Well what Len didn't understand was that Anna's power had only showed itself to him and it was a combination of them both just like he believed Elsa's is. He had witnessed once when Elsa was small her making steam rise from a puddle underneath her tiny little feet. When she ran towards the next puddle Mick had gone over and felt the water. It was hot. Not as hot as he could've made it but it was hot. Anna had done the same thing in the bath. She was complaining it was to cold but before he could use his magic to warm it up steam started to rise from the water. Laughing and giggling Anna continued on with her game of sink the ship she had started with her little bath toy. She had warmed it up herself. He watched with disbelief as his one year old daughter heated the full bathtub of water. After she was all done and dried and clothed and put in her crib he had started to head out to tell Leonard and that's when the shit hit the roof. The royal family of Arundelle didn't like their only heir being with the heir of their rival kingdom, Aodhendelle. So they sent in their top warriors and kidnapped Leonard and the girls and took them back to Arundelle. Mick stopped himself there. He didn't want to think of the rest. What he had done to protect his family and his people. What he had done to Leonard and his beautiful little girls. Suddenly he felt this burning sensation in his hand. He had accidentally placed his hand in the skillet while his mind had wandered. Biting his tongue so he wouldn't scream he added more batter to the pan. He would make those that hurt his family pay but at the moment he had to focus on cooking. Finishing the pancakes he set them on the table with some syrup and some butter. He also made sure that his burned hands were hidden by the plates. After he made sure everything was alright he then proceeded out the front door. Leonard knew that look Mick gave him. It was the look Micky gave him just before he went off the handle on the waverider and he wouldn't let that happen again. Leonard told Elsa to start breakfast and that they would be right back in or atleast he hoped so.

When Leonard got outside he found Mick staring at his hands that were burnt pretty badly. That's what Mick was hiding under those plates. He went over and placed his hands on Mick's allowing his magic to flow around and through the burns. Mick winced a little but didn't say a word. Steam wove its way around the two men like a blanket on a cold winter's night. When Leonard removed his hands the burns on Mick's hands were gone. Mick looked up at Leonard but didn't say anything. "Micky you have to stop beating yourself up about what happened. Neither of us could do anything. The important thing right now is to focus on what we have and what we can get back." Len said has he gave Mick a passionate kiss. He wasn't going to lose Mick to the darkness again, he promised himself and whoever might've been listening that.

Elsa watched the two men from the kitchen window. For this being a hideout, it sure was greatly furnished. The window was made of the most beautiful glass she had ever seen and there were curtains made of the finest silk she had ever touched. The dishes that she saw in the top cupboards were real China. The couch was fake leather but very well made. The bed had sulked sheets and pillows that your head just sank into. She watched as Leonard healed Mick's hands and as the steam once again rose around them. She wanted to know what happened all those years ago. Why their family was separated? Why her powers manifested and Anna didn't have any, except for the power to drive people crazy, make a mess and eat enough chocolate to fill a candy store. Elsa laughed as she thought of her loving and whimsical little sister. The years they suffered because of her powers still haunted her but now she had the chance to find out exactly how, when and why and she was going to take it.

Elsa was about to head outside when a women in black leather came up behind her and knocked her out. Throwing Elsa over her shoulder the women left the house and was about to place her in a car when a blast of fire hit her on her back. She tried turning around but got hit with another blast of fire and fell to the ground, smoke coming of the burnt leather.

Leonard ran over and picked up Elsa and carried her inside while Mick scooped up the charred women and brought her inside as well. Leonard laid Elsa down on the bed and Mick dropped the woman to the floor which earned him a distasteful look from Leonard. He didn't care though. Nobody was going to harm his family ever again. With his foot, he rolled the woman onto her back which made her squirm in pain but she didn't make a sound. Mick had a piece of mind to step on her and drive that burnt back into the floor of the hideout but didn't knowing that Leonard would not approve. She was wearing a black mask. Leonard went in for a closer look, Mick watching closely the whole time. The woman looked familiar. Like someone he had seen before. "It couldn't be" Leonard thought to himself and he removed the mask. The woman underneath had the same facial distinctions as Sara but older. Leonard stepped back while Mick just stared, almost in the same amount of shock as Leonard.

Elsa started to stir and both men's attention went straight to her. Mick helped her sit up while Leonard got her something to drink. Elsa looked over and saw the woman laying on the floor. She couldn't believe the power of her father's fire magic. As Elsa took another drink the woman on the floor started to cough up blood and seize. That's when both of the men remembered the burn she had. They cut off as much of the leather suit as they could and got her laying on her stomach. She was twitching and not responding. Leonard looked up at Mick. There was very little hope that she would survive as badly injured as she was. Mick took a deep breath and as soon as he let it out he knew what he had to do. Scooping up the woman he went outside and dialed a number. Within seconds there was a red streak and Mick was walking back in by himself. Leonard was proud of him. Even though she attacked his daughter he sought help from the one person trying to lock them away, The Flash aka Barry Allen. Leonard laughed because he was becoming just like Barry, whiny and sentimental. The last time he had interacted with Barry he had frozen his father and broke him to help save his sister. He told himself he had been trying to redeem himself on the waverider to be a better role model for her but in reality it was his suppressed memories of his children and being with Mick that was making him want to become the person he was now.

Elsa was still trying to figure out what was going on when Mick went and sat next to her. "Hey kid, I'm sure you have a lot of questions and we have the answers and are willing to give them to you but ask yourself this, once you know the answers what happens if you don't like them"? Elsa stared into the eyes of the man claiming to be her father. She knew he was telling the truth but still had a reservation about everything. She looked up at Leonard, the man who was her mother. He was watching both of them closely like if he looked away one or both of them would vanish from the room. She knew then, looking at the two people sitting in front of her that she had to know. She had to know why the two people who would understand her and what she could do the most were taken from her. Why someone like grandpappy never breathed a word of this to either Anna or herself. She started feeling betrayed by all the people who said they cared and loved her. First her grandparents treated her like a villain in her own home, they feared her powers, her abilities and their way of getting back at her was separating her and Anna for years lying to her about why she couldn't play with her big sister anymore and then finding this out and the fact the few people she fully trusted never told her the truth either. This was her chance to finally have someone look her in the eyes and tell her the cold, honest truth. She knew it would hurt and that with knowledge comes pain but she had overcome demons before and destroyed them and from the look of her father so had he. They were connected, she might share the power of ice with her mother, but she shared something even deeper with her father and she wanted to know why they were separated. Elsa took a deep breath and said "I want to know the truth and even if the truth ends up to hurt I need to know, Anna and I both deserve to know." Mick looked over at Leonard who shook his head in agreement. Mick was proud of her. He saw that she understood that she was in for a painful trip down memory lane and so were they. He saw the strength and courage in her eyes. He also saw how much the two of them were alike when it came to fighting off inner demons. Mick sensed that his daughter had been wronged and was in pain. He also could tell that she had made some bad choices due to that pain and that was something he understood as well and he allowed his mind to wander and he found himself going back to the thoughts of abandoning Leonard and becoming Chronos. He shook that thought off. That would be a memory to conquer another day. Something even more important needed taken care of. He wanted to know everything that happened to his daughters. He wanted his daughters to know that their parents didn't just abandon them. He wanted Elsa to know that no matter what has happened someone will always be there to catch her and love her. He had to make sure she knew that people can change if they allow themselves too. That no matter what one has done in the past, it's what they do with their futures is what truly matters.

"Alright kid, we will tell you everything and then we will get you back to Arundelle where your sister is and make this family whole again" Mick said as he pulled Leonard close to him. Leonard wanted to just melt inside. Seeing Mick finding peace within himself and finding the strength to bring some peace to his daughter warmed him up inside. He made sure he didn't start crying because more than likely that would've given Mick the opening to postpone this little talk. Leonard was just about to say something when Mick wrapped his arms around him and with a devious smile said "Once Upon a Time..."


End file.
